As is well known certain disasters involving considerable loss to property have occurred over time from inclement weather conditions. This obviously has brought attention to the problem of protecting all types of structures from damage occasioned by such inclement weather conditions where strong winds either directly cause damage to the structures or indirectly cause damage by picking up objects of all types which effectively become missiles that impact on frangible parts of the structures. Once so damaged the structure is much more susceptible to further deterioration by the inclement weather conditions.
There have been, over the years, many attempts to protect these frangible building structures from damage. This particularly applies to weaker areas such as windows, glass doors, large garage doors, ventilation louvers and the like. One such method for this type of protection is to put protective coverings over these portions of the structures. These protective coverings are known in the art as "storm or hurricane shutters" and may range from plywood fastened to the frame of the window, door or the like with nails or screws to permanently installed motorized roll up shutters which deploy and retract at the throw of a switch. Some of these are tailored to fit and permanently installed on the frame and either fold, slide or roll over the area or back for storage. Some are tailored to fit but are stored elsewhere and put into place when inclement weather threatens.
The folding and roll type of shutters are typically of slat structure fabricated from wood, steel, aluminum, plastic or other materials or the type that consists of panels that are hinged and unfolded to overlie the window or panels that are hinged to one another and roll up. Window covers of these types are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,340 granted to Paule on Aug. 10, 1982 entitled "Shutter Slat Configuration" and U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,951 granted to Graulich on Feb. 13, 1962 and entitled "Storm Shutter Assembly". Aside from the desirability or non desirability of these type of shutters being decorative and being aesthetically pleasant, as is well known in the industry many of these shutters that are currently commercially available are notoriously short of meeting the structural integrity required for existing and pending bylaws and building codes in various areas. As legislation governing building standards become more stringent there should be an increasingly larger demand for storm shutters that can meet these present and future stringent standards.
The problem with the panel or boarding method as described hereinabove is that the panels or boards are typically heavy and cumbersome to install and remove. Additionally they are opaque and hence darken the interior of the building. Certain shutters have light transmitting panels and openings but these generally cause inherent weakness in the shutter thusly diminishing the possibility of meeting the stringent standards mentioned hereinabove. However, light transmission is very desirable to make the building more naturally habitable. The normal implication of this advantage is that it will allow the shutter to be put into place early upon the very first warnings of inclement weather rather than left until the last moment when other needs are also pressing. This is particularly true in multi-unit buildings that include many areas that require protection.
I have found that I can overcome the problems alluded to in the above by providing a storm shutter construction that is capable of withstanding impact and wind standards that are being implemented in many localities, and also providing storm shutters that are transparent so that the objections of darkening the building interior and the lack of capacity to look through them is obviated. In one embodiment of these storm shutters, this invention contemplates fabricating panels from commercially available double-skinned sheets (axially spaced sheets) of plastic having elongated webs defining a plurality of side-by-side open ended channels. In my coverings these channels are oriented so that they are preferably but not necessarily vertical with respect to ground. A rod made from metal, plastic or composite material is judiciously located in one or more discretely located channel(s) and are sized to extend through and in some applications beyond the channel(s). Each rod is then positively fastened to the frame of the window or door intended to be protected. In another embodiment in which a longer span is required, the rods include hooks or other fastening means for accommodating cables or straps that are tensioned to bow each rod and, in turn, bow the panel(s) to a predetermined arc to form a cambered unit. Where there are a number of adjacent panels used in a row, the end panels may be left with the outer side unbowed to prevent air flow between the panel and side portion of the frame. When unbowed the space which would otherwise exist between the frame and panel is eliminated and the panel hugs the face of the window or door frame.
In still another embodiment of this invention, the side edges of each panel include spaced interconnecting hinged joints that interlock with each other and the rod used for strengthening the panels also serves the additional function of the hinged pin so that the panels may be folded one over the other for uncovering the window or door when not in use and retained on the window or door frame. These panels or slats could also be accordioned or rolled for storage. The rod spacing and panel width would be dependent upon the span being covered. Any number of panels or slats could be connected in this manner either vertically or horizontally to either roll up or accordion together for storage.
Obviously, because the sheets are made from a plastic material they inherently provide good resistance to mildew, warping, rotting, corrosion and the like and may include protection against ultra violet rays. Protection from these occurrences are commonly included in the commercially available sheets.
Another advantage of this invention is that it easily accommodates the thermal expansion and contraction found in all plastic. Heretofore known material of this type has been utilized as a protective and insulating glazing product. This has entailed a sophisticated and complex framing system to support the panels which added substantially to the difficulty and cost of installation and afforded very little additional strength to the final installed product.
Another advantage of this invention is that the system can be aesthetically and functionally varied to meet each situation by avoiding complex and sophisticated framing and using different colors that are available in the commercial sheet goods. This provides the installer or designer flexibility and sundry choices such as sun shading, matching color schemes and the like.